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These past few years have been interesting, especially as I have begun to realise that age is just a number. Retirement might be that chapter of life you were too scared to venture to in your 20s. Avoiding boredom, especially if you have thirty or more years ahead of you, is essential!
Consider the following examples of finding your dream career after you’re «over the hill»:
- Colonel Sanders was 62 years old when he opened his first KFC franchise.
- A client had her first career in interior design and remodelling homes. She eventually left that in her late 30s or early 40s to become an acupuncturist. Eventually, she retired, selling her properties. A few years into retirement, she studied again and started a third career.
- A friend of mine will retire in May 2020. However, she has spent the past three and a half years studying, and recently graduated as a Licensed Unity Teacher. (This is similar to a Minister but for spiritual teaching). She has spent these past few years preparing for her new career in retirement, and looking forward to the new adventure that this will bring.
Retirement is no longer about sitting on the porch in a rocking chair, watching the sunset as you speak with the neighbours. It’s not necessarily playing golf either or sitting at the country club.
Retirement in Panama is the moment: you have time for your interests, passions and dreams. A time to focus your energy and interests into a new legacy.
Choosing to go back to school
Opportunities, especially in this digital age, exist on every corner. Even more so if you don’t need a diploma, degree and graduation. For example:
- Adult learning through online courses – the online learning world has come so far in the past ten years. All kinds of options are open with individual study modules, group meetings (online) and correspondence work.
- Learning Spanish through various schools in Panama City, Coronado or Boquete. There are many opportunities to simply get a tutor or actually be in a class with other expats learning Spanish.
In the end, all that matters is your purpose and passion for studying: what are you willing to pay, where can you find it, and what time are you willing to invest into the courses?
Adult learning, even in retirement, has many benefits. It keeps your mind sharp, allowing you to meet new people. You will also find out the latest changes, even if you choose to study further in your particular field of expertise. What has changed since you were last at University?
In retirement, you might choose just to study for the joy of learning. There is no requirement that it has to be useful or that you can make a career out of it unless your dream career didn’t pay and your parents said «no way». Why not pursue that dream now?
A dream career move in consulting?
Maybe you don’t want a total change, and what you really are interested in is niching down in your speciality. Have you explored consulting work in retirement? The beauty of consulting is that you can focus on a speciality, with projects that you care about. Perhaps you choose to set up your home base in Panama, and then simply take jobs internationally that require your presence minimally or for a limited time.
Being a consultant provides autonomy and flexibility – you choose when, where and how you want to be available and negotiate accordingly. In some cases, you might choose part-time, or you might choose a short-term full-time project. Alternatively, you might even negotiate that part of the work is done remotely, allowing you to spend more of your time in Panama.
With a longer life expectancy today than 20 years ago, you can avoid getting bored and stagnant during retirement. Additionally, being a consultant will motivate you to stay connected and current with your business network, keeping you in the loop of what is happening in your business world. An alternative to this could simply be mentoring younger entrepreneurs or executives.
Avoiding boredom: volunteering
For some, retirement means building a legacy in their community. It’s not necessarily a job, but it is essential in avoiding boredom and creating a legacy! There are more options than I care to enumerate, but here are a few:
- rescued animals & shelters;
- teaching English to local school children;
- volunteering with an orphanage or other special needs centres;
- visiting aged care homes.
It doesn’t matter what you choose to do, as long as it is something that you love and have a passion for. Volunteering has many benefits for you:
- social networking;
- you have control over scheduling how much time and availability you give; and
- this gets you out of the house – out and about, where the boredom won’t kill you!
You really aren’t too old to follow your heart
I already mentioned that Col. Sanders was 62 when he launched his first KFC franchise. But did you know that Nestle was 53 when he developed powdered milk for infants?
Just because you are entering retirement doesn’t mean that you are too late to start! Perhaps this is just the beginning and it’s more than just avoiding boredom!
What is your passion in life? What did you dream of doing «when I have the time & money»? Well, now that you have the time and money, perhaps it’s time to live that dream! As you look at the possibilities, make an inventory of your strengths and your experience.
What would you like to do with those dreams that you never followed because you were too busy?
Consider for a moment:
- What do I need to learn?
- Are any new skills required and how can I acquire them?
- What help will I need? Who could I ask to help me?
Avoiding boredom – how do you want to spend your retirement?
Retirement is a time of opportunity and change. The real question is considering what changes you want to have in your life.
Ask yourself these questions to help you decide what to do:
- Will you regret it if you do nothing and simply go into a normal retirement?
- Are you prepared to learn more about yourself by stepping outside of your comfort zone and learning something new? Do you want to meet new people, learn new skills and have new experiences?
- What legacy do you want to leave? Have you already created your greatest work or do you feel that it is still waiting to be done?
- Who are you looking to inspire and how might you inspire them?
- Will you be happy and fulfilled if you ignore this dream? Or only if you decide to follow it?
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